


Achromatic

by cosmonaughtt



Series: truth in ideals [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon? Who's She? Never Heard Of Her, Friendship, Haphephobia, History, I Love Touya and Touko, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mental Health Issues, Misophonia, Multi, Mythological Referneces, N is too good for this world, Not everything is black and white, Not to be Kinky but so I don't feel weird writing romance about twelve year olds, Pokemon Ethics, Professor Juniper Has A Wife Because this is MY STORY and I Do What I Want, Psychic Abilities, Team Plasma, Team Plasma is Totally A Cult, The Romantic Relationships are for near the end, Too Many Pokémon To Tag, Touko Does Her Own Stuff, Touya's The History Nerd, ba dum tss, conflicting ideals, good sibling relationships, too pure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2019-12-26 14:47:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18284441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmonaughtt/pseuds/cosmonaughtt
Summary: Touya is 18, fresh out of high school, and not entirely sure what he wants to do. Sure, there's college, but not so fast, there. Instead, to avoid the responsibilities of college for a bit, he and his two "friends", Cheren and Bianca, take up a job as assistants at the local (and slightly eccentric) Pokémon lab, a job to travel across Unova, with the gift of a Pokédex and an elemental starter.The world isn't what it seems, though. A weird cult is spreading its shadow over the region, and a mysterious (and yet, so familiar) stranger named N seems to be in the middle of it all. A battle between truth and ideals is going to take place, leaving Touya to wonder, if he'll see the truth in the world, or stand for his ideals against it.





	1. Genesis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The notes at the end are important to keep in mind for the story, but I won't bother you up here. Enjoy the story! :D

The sun was arched high in the bright blue sky, and a flurry of graduation caps flew into it.

Traditional high-school graduations were designed similar to the graduations one would have in college; not all the students would be going on to further, higher education, since most of them were of age and able to start a Pokémon journey of their own.

Perhaps Touya Kibo would be one of those.

He wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted to do.

He’d graduated salutatorian—the second-best in his entire class of nearly four hundred students. Which he found surprising, given people he knew like Cheren and his own twin, Touko, were amongst the students. The title attracted the unwanted attention of giving an opening speech, which was two minutes of him standing in front of the crowd of graduating teenagers and their families and stuttering out some inspirational nonsense that Touko helped him write, but it also attracted wanted attention in the form of colleges. He’d applied to many places, even reaching out-of-region, nearly ten of them. All ten, he got accepted into, most of them being full-rides, which made both of his parents jovial.

Yet at the same time, Touya wasn’t sure that’s what he wanted to do.

He wasn’t exactly _sure_ what he wanted to do.

College was an option, and most places said that they’d hold his place for a whole year and a half, if Touya wished to take a journey around the region, and even the length of time was debatable.

When family members he hadn’t seen in years asked him at the reception after the graduation, Touya shrugged it off, trying to feign the same confidence his sister had.

Touko was a natural at talking to people, an outgoing soul living in a house full of introverts. It was some sort of miracle that she never ended up going insane on cold days when she couldn’t leave the house. Once she got her own Pokémon, though, it was much easier.

Technically it was meant for both of them—a Patrat, who Touko nicknamed Meatloaf, because he was often sluggish and a bit of a sloth—but Touko took him out more than Touya ever would, nonetheless.

The reception was followed by a battle by the top two students—not Touya, who didn’t train a Pokémon of his own, or even the girl who was valedictorian. The top two students in the battle courses were called back to the center of the gym, their graduation robes flowing dramatically with them.

Cheren Kimura was one of the two. He was one of the few students not native to Asperita, where the high school _technically_ was, like Touya and Touko were. There were four of them, in total, complete “outsiders”—they lived in Nuvema, and had to take a fifteen-minute walk to even get to school. He called out his Purrloin, and his opponent, a girl who Touya only knew as Eri, who in return, sent out a Pansear.

He’d watched them battle before. It had ended in a tie the previous time, Eri holding strong with her Pansear and Cheren’s speed to his advantage with his Purrloin, and Cheren had barely managed to defeat her. Either way, the two of them were going to be the two who battled in front of the graduating class on graduation day, as the rules go.

Touya found his sister, sitting in the seats, next to the other student from Nuvema—a girl named Bianca Taketatsu, but Touko often shortened it to “Bel”. They’d been inseparable since the first day of high school, and Cheren was dragged into a bit, too. Touya himself was _technically_ part of their friend group, but on the _technicality_ that he was the twin brother, so none of them were really friends-- acquaintances, more or less. 

“Who do you think’s gonna win, Touko?” Bianca asked, looking down at the fight with her fists clenched, but eyes wide and sparkling.

Touko was a natural battler, and really deserved the spot that Eri had, but she’d flunked out on the battle trial the last day on purpose, to avoid the unwanted duties that the students who won had to have. She only took a glance down to the field before saying, “I think it’s gonna be Cheren. Cleo’s got a slight advantage because of her dark-type, and Chili’s strongest move is Lick, which is ghost-type.”

Bianca nodded in response. Sometimes, Touya wondered if Bianca really understood anything that was going on.

True enough, the battle went as expected. For two fledgling trainers, Cheren and Eri, the battle was dramatic and worthy of an epic soundtrack behind them. For the parents and students who had seen grander battles, it was a bit more…lackluster.

But it was over soon enough, with Cheren grabbing a last-second victory over Eri. Which was rightfully deserved, Eri was a _prick,_ mostly to the Nuvema town kids like them.

"Go, Cheren!" Bianca called out from where they sat, her hat nearly falling off of her face in the process. Cheren glanced up at the sudden sound of his voice, but upon finding out who it belonged to, blushed feverishly and looked down to the ground. Embarrassed, sheepish, shy? It was obvious to everyone  _but_ Bianca the boy's massive crush on her-- and Touya didn't have to look into his memories for that. 

Speaking of which, the gloves on his hands were getting really hot. 

* * *

 

Touya and Touko Kibo were born to Aiko and Yasu Kibo on a cool December morning, only a few minutes apart. Each twin would tell you they're the oldest, contradicting the other, but in reality, Touko first saw the world, and he was silent as the morning he was born on. Touko was the verbal one, crying as she took her first, gaping breaths, but Touya didn't cry at all. He was immediately taken by the doctors, to make sure no fluid had caught itself in his lungs, but it took the moment his mother held him for the first time for him to cry.

It was brushed off, at that point. Touya and Touko were both perfectly healthy babies, only a few days after their expected due date. They were inseparable, even as newborns, and they were just the same as night and day, Touko a bright, giggling girl, Touya a quiet baby, both with the large brown eyes of their father. 

Touya was healthy, but would wake up every night as a toddler, for no known reason. They blamed it on just Touya being a baby and crying, as babies do, and if he didn't cry in the morning, maybe he only cried at night like some sort of vampire (a fun joke his father often told). Aiko took him to the doctor one day for a checkup, to make sure that Touya was as healthy as the day he was born, and the tests for everything came back negative. They tried moving the crib into their room for a while, instead of down the hall, and it worked for a few months, but there would still be nights where Touya would wake up, crying, for no reason.

 _"It must be nightmares."_ said the doctor, finally, after his four-month checkup. _"There's not much you can do about it except comfort him if he does happen to wake up."_

And they did. For three years, until Touya was able to speak.

One sunny afternoon in April, as Touko played in the backyard with the family Pokémon, a Delcatty that Aiko had picked up during her stay in Hoenn, that Touya tugged on her dress. The young boy was extremely touch-averse to everyone but his sister, and he held onto the bottom of Aiko's dress and asked his mother, "How do you stop the things?"

"What do you mean, Touya?" Aiko asked, leaning down to her son. She placed her hand on his shoulder, being mindful of the sleeve. Even then, Touya flinched.

"I-- the things you see, when you t-touch people." Touya glanced down at his hands. "When people touch me, I see things."

"Like what, honey?" Thinking it to once again be Touya's overactive imagination (and strange obsession with the myth and lore of the county), Aiko entertained it. It wasn't like he  _was_ a psychic or anything, because those were rare and few in numbers, and people with abilities are as rare as people with Albinism. 

"When-- when Daddy picked me up today, a-and I froze up, I saw Daddy, but Daddy was like Obito's age, and a Pokémon, and..." As the young toddler continued to babble about what he had seen, Aiko's mind shifted. What if her son  _was_ one of those people born with abilities.

It turns out, Touya was. After a long flight from Asperita to Opelucid, and a visit with a specialized doctor, Touya was "diagnosed" as a P.U.A.-- a  _person_   _with an unusual ability_. To Unovan law, no such person was subjected to any League-associated law, not on any sort of registered list for people like him, allowing him to live freely.

Or, as freely as he could, with a growing case of hapephobia and misophonia. 

At least then, they understood Touya's true abilities. His ability was dubbed "Clarivoyance", allowing him to see the memories of anything living or nonliving he touched. The nonliving aspect of his ability was easy to control, but if the palms of his hands (or, strangely, the soles of his feet, too) came into contact with a living person, or if a living being touched him without warning, his ability would trigger an "episode", where he could either zone-out for a good five minutes, or even faint. 

Nearly eighteen and a half years later, Touya still didn't have full control over his ability-- gloves were his precaution, and he became adjusted to wearing long-sleeved clothing or avoiding people when it got blisteringly hot out. No one knew about his ability, except for his family, and Bianca and Cheren (who had, unfortunately, witnessed an episode when he was fourteen at school), and Touya was determined to keep it that way. 

His ability led to a bit of withdraw from the world, which he didn't mind much. But he was always hoping, always waiting for the moment when the world would try, maybe one last time, to allow him into it, and when that opportunity came knocking, Touya opened the door wide.

* * *

 

"Professor Juniper is looking for lab assistants?" Touya asked, peering over the paper his sister had just handed to him.

Touko nodded, too quick for him to see, smiling and brushing Meatloaf's fur. They both sat on her bed together, looking over the flyer that Touko had, admittedly, ripped off of the window of the local laboratory and immediately taken home for Touya to see.

One week ago, the both of them graduated, unsure of what they were going to do in the world. They both knew  _travel_ was on their list, but it was hard for the Kibo family to afford to keep both Meatloaf and the family Delcatty, Roma, fed along with them. College was next on the list, and though they both got accepted into many schools for little to no money, there was a bit of hesitation there. After all, most people took a gap year, or two, or three to travel, and whatever college they ended up deciding on, their spots would be hold for at least two years. The twins figured that one day, once they figured out how they could make money on the road, they would set out, and Touko would help catch a Pokémon partner for him. 

"And it's paid?"

Touko shrugged. "I don't know how  _much._ By 'pay', she could mean that we would get paid for every job we did, or they can also mean 'we'll pay for your expenses on the road'." She stopped brushing Meatloaf's fur, pulling knots of fur off of the brush in disgust. "Honestly, Loaf, where does all this fur come from?"

The Patrat only chirped in response, closing her eyes and expecting more pets. She was, lack of a better term, spoiled. 

"But, but, but but!" Touko looked Touya  _dead_ in the eye, their matching brown eyes meeting. "Whether or not it's paid, I think it's worth a shot."

"How many people are going to go for it?" Touya asked. "If we're out against real competition--"

"Oh, my dear brother, my dear Debbie-Downer brother, _always_ the pessimist..." Touko interrupted, picking up Meatloaf and putting her on top of  _his_ lap, instead. She stood talk and proud, crossing her arms. "It asks for the  _young_ people in Nuvema. How many of there are us?"

"...Four."

"Right! We can grab 'Bel and Cheren, and all four of us have an excuse to leave this small town and see the world!"

Touya glanced back down at the paper. In smaller text, below the eye-catching `"HELP WANTED: LAB ASSISTANT"` title, was,  _`"Only Three Spots."`_ Three was a common number with Professors, associated with the three elemental starters that they're known to give out. "But the three--"

"Three spots for the three starters." Touko winked. "I've got Meatloaf now." She was always registered to Touko's trainer card, both the provisional and now their new, shiny badges. It made sense that Meatloaf would go along with her. Touko sighed again, sitting back down next to him on her bed. "I guess... I'm not really that into the whole _job_ thing. She's asking us to go around the region, which I was already going to do. It'd be nice to get paid, but if there are really only three spots, then..." Her eyes met his again, and they sparkled. There was no sign of lost, forlorn look in them, his sister was anything but sad.  _Sad_ wasn't something Touko felt, at all, it seemed. She was always happy, always positive, and she was  _determined._ "I want you to have it."

Touya glanced back down at the flyer, and then, the room around him. Their entire bedroom took up the entirety of the second floor, the roof bending into the room at awkward angles. The only thing separating them and giving them separate spaces was the old divider, which only stood half-open, most of the time. Touko would do anything for him, and he would do anything for her. They were each other's cornerstone, even when they were not around each other. 

"Okay. I'll try it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKOKOKOK I just wanna add to their names again, because I did a funny and I wanna share it with everyone. Touko and Touya both have the same "Tou-" at the beginning of their name (though in kanji it means different things, that's just a fun tidbit as long as I used the kanji right in _Lonely Like Me_ , if you've read it. But their last names deal with their parents last names. Touko takes the "-ko" of her name from her mother, Aiko, and Touya takes the "-ya" of his name from his father, Yasu. 
> 
> Aiko👏and👏Yasu👏support👏their👏strangely👏psychic👏son 
> 
> Like I mentioned in _Lonely Like Me_ , Touya's psychic abilities (more will be explained later and through context) are meant to mirror N's own weird abilities (which I diagnosed as hyper-empathy and Pokemon-specific telepathy) in their own strange way (plus I like Suffering Magic Protagonist Characters). The supportive reaction visible in Aiko and Yasu is meant to foil Ghetsis' reaction to the abilities in N. 
> 
> PUA has a different meaning if you google it, I'm sorry. I can't think of anything else that describes "Person with an Unusual Ability". No government list of them exists in Unova (Or Alola, Orre, and more recently, Galar) because PUAs are allowed to live freely. In regions like Kalos or Kanto, a registered list of them exists for League-associated reasons after rumors began to spread surrounding Sabrina and possible involvement in Team Rocket, and in Kalos and the regions they're seen by a majority of the older population as "lesser people". If a PUA moved to any of these regions they'd register, if they took on the league challenge there, or were just visiting, they would be strongly pushed to register, but not required. 
> 
> Like I mentioned in _Lonely Like Me_ (I keep talking about it, I know, but it's the prologue to the story, after all) Pokémon trainers do not start their wild journeys AT AGE TEN. I couldn't even be TRUSTED with a FAKE PLANT at age ten, even if the cultures are different between the worlds, there's no way I could be trusted with a POKÉMON, of all things. A sentient, very human-intelligent creature with abilities that could kill other people if its not careful enough? Yeah, uh, no thanks. Kids are allowed to have a "provisional" license, of sorts, if they pass a test at age ten-twelve in order to own a Pokémon of their own, like a first pet. This license is more of a learners' permit, and most people get a full-blown license at their graduation-- which Touya, Touko, Cheren, and Bianca all got. 
> 
> Touko is a great sister, I love her. I wish I had a twin sister like her.
> 
> A lot of the Pokémon Journey Fanfics (especially the ones where the author tries and rewrites their own/general gameplay) that I've read tend to follow the same pattern-- Professor Give Pokémon, Go Challenge Gyms, Beat The League, and sometimes rinse and repeat. I didn't want that to be the case with Achromatic, so I decided that the reason that Cheren, Bianca, and the twins were out on an adventure is that it's a _paid job_ with _health benefits_. You can guess the job is related to the Pokédex, of course, which works differently but also the same in this world. 
> 
> A good subversion of this trope I've found is actually [Patchwork](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16654786/chapters/39050653) by theotheghostkid, 10/10 would recommend a read.
> 
> Anyway that's all for this chapter. Let's see what the next one brings!


	2. Assignment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of course, Touya is getting this job, he's the protagonist. Spoiler warning.

“Kibo, Touya?”

It was his turn. Touko had gone before him, just moments before, and had only left the office for a few seconds before he heard his own name called. Bianca and Cheren were near the end, their surnames dictating so in the alphabetical order.

Touko flashed him two thumbs-up, mouthing the words, “You got this!” as he followed the aide  into the office.

Touya knew Professor Juniper. Or, more accurately, knew _of_ , and had seen her a few times outside of her lab, talking to neighbors. She lived on the second-floor of the building, which he realized today was a loft above the laboratory. Dedicated to her work, no less. Her office was just as organized as the rest of her laboratory.

Which was to say, wasn’t very organized at all.

The professor was leaned over sheets of papers, and Touya could see his own face looking out, amongst his sister’s and her two friends. Detailed reports and transcripts, no less, that they had requested be sent from their school in Accumula. A few more pages sat to the side, with faces of classmates that Touya barely recognized.

The aide that let him said, “Professor Juniper.”

“Yes?—Oh!” She’d been absorbed in her own world, but her hazel eyes sparkled upon seeing another person to interview in the room. “Thank you, Melissa.” She turned to the aide, who nodded, and left the room quickly. “Touya Kibo, right?”

Her hand was held out. Touya gulped and shook it. He wore his lighter gloves today, the ones that allowed more breathing room, but he knew that it was just a tad bit sweaty. _She’s going to ask about the gloves,_ he thought.

The professor didn’t notice and motioned for the seat behind him to take. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Touya.”

“L-Likewise.” _Why did you say that, Touya? Idiot._

She shuffled a few papers on her desk, setting them down haphazardly and pushing stray hairs back into the messy bun that sat lopsided on her head. “Salutatorian of your class, great recommendations from your teachers… I’m impressed.” Professor Juniper said.

Touya nodded in response. He’d gone through the interview the day before, a fake one that he and Touko tried to set up to practice with each other, but it had ended with unnecessary giggles and a late-night snack break that kept them up until two in the morning. The pros of being graduated, they didn’t have to worry about getting up early to graduate, at least. “Thank you.” He added at the end, though, a bit quietly.

“I have all these official documents telling me about what kind of student you were, and what your work ethic was. And I am impressed. But I need a bit more information about who _you_ are as a person. Tell me about yourself.”

He gulped. The _bane_ of all questions he’d been expecting in interviews, both in college and beyond. There wasn’t anything interesting about him, nothing that particularly stood out.

“Well…” He paused for a moment, but no, wait, Touya’s pausing for too long. It shouldn’t take this long to talk about _himself_ , he should know how to do this, damn it! _Like you practiced with Touko, c’mon…_ “I’ve always enjoyed reading about Pokémon— not scientific books about them, but more of the mythology and history behind them. I guess I’m a big history fan.”

Which, knowing what Professor Juniper studied, the _origins of Pokémon_ … It was definitely an asset to Touya’s choice.

“History, huh? What’s your favorite historical moment?”

“I’m a big fan of the story of the Swords of Justice and the Unovan Civil War.” It had always been his favorite, as a kid; the story of the Unovan Civil War. Though it had happened hundreds of years ago, some of the issues are still a bit of a big topic. Are Pokémon considered enslaved by their trainers? Should it be right for Pokémon to be forced out of their natural environment? The story that came out of the civil war that fascinated Touya the most was the story of the Swords of Justice—three famed legendary Pokémon, said to travel the region to deal out justice against people who purposely hurt and enslaved Pokémon. Myth says the three legendaries defended a forest against an onslaught of the side that favored Pokémon slavery, and it had caught on fire—

Touya realized he was rambling and had said everything aloud. “—and, yeah. It’s my favorite story.”

Professor Juniper’s eyes twinkled a bit more. She was just as fascinated as he was, it seemed. “Impressive! I’ve had a few people come in liking history, but their knowledge didn’t extend as far as yours did.”

 _Impressive_ echoed through his head.

“Touya, what kind of a Pokémon trainer would you be?” Professor Juniper asked. “As you know with the job, I’ll be giving out the three elemental starters for Unova, and I’m sure you know how rare these three are. I need to know that they would be in good hands, of trainers that I could trust.”

Touya had imagined, as a kid, what kind of Pokémon trainer he would be. Would he take on the Pokémon League challenge, like Touko had dreamed of as a child? Probably not. He didn’t really know what kind of trainer he would want to be, or if he would even _get_ a Pokémon. He loved Pokémon, but they could be expensive to care for, and their family could barely afford two.

After the minor geek-out with Professor Juniper, Touya had relaxed a bit, but now he was stiff again. “I—I’m not sure.” He didn’t know _what_ kind of trainer he would be. He noticed the Professor nod and write something down on his paper. _Shit._ “I guess—it’s just. I don’t know what specific kind of trainer I’d be, but I know that I’d want to be the best for whatever Pokémon I got. Does—does that make sense?”

Professor Juniper nodded. “Alright, so. A masked burglar has broken into the lab, and you’re the only one here at night. With whatever Pokémon you had, what would you do first? Would you A, battle the burglar, given he had a Pokémon, B, hide and call the authorities, or C, make sure the lab equipment is safe and secure before taking on the burglar?”

Oh. This was a strange interview question, but Touya supposed it was a possibility. Not particularly in Nuvema, but it was a possibility, nonetheless. What would he do? He would—he would probably hide. He was a bit of a coward, and he knew it. But he’d want to make sure that everything was safe from the burglar, wouldn’t he. “If—if it’s possible, I think I’d do a mixture of B and C.”

The professor’s eyebrow quirked up. “Explain, would you?”

“Well, I would try and make sure everything was safe, first. But I’d try and be quiet, because I—I don’t want to alert the burglar? And then I’d find a way to call the authorities, and either hide or… Well, I guess all three.”

She wrote a few more things down on his paper, circling something. “Thank you. Now, do you have any allergies, medications, or something of the like that I should be aware of?”

Touya gulped. He was expecting this question. He was expecting a lot of questions—not the burglar question, in particular—and he was expecting one of these to be there. It was nice to inform an employer of any particular allergy or medication, which even though it was illegal to take in account before hiring, allowed the employer to figure out a way to work with it. If Touya had an allergy to the natural pollen that grass-types gave off, then he wouldn’t be working with a grass-type. 

He pulled on his gloves, nervously. He had to tell her. He didn’t want to _lie_ and say _nothing_ , because there was _something_ , and why he always wore gloves. It would impede him if he had to work with his gloves off at any point. His parents, even Touko suggested that if Professor Juniper asked, that he should tell her.

But it was his secret to spill.

“I… Yes.” Professor Juniper didn’t work for the Pokémon League. She worked _with_ them in assisting trainers by giving them League-sanctioned starters on this side of Unova, like her father did in the north, but she wasn’t an official employee. “I’m a P.U.A.”

Professor Juniper stopped writing. “A P.U.A., you say?”

Touya nodded. Discrimination based on psychic or unusual abilities was recently made illegal in Unova. But there were still some people that still held those beliefs, that people like him were unnatural and not-human and _freaks_ , and he prayed to whatever deity was listening that Professor Juniper wasn’t.

“What’s the name of your ability?”

Oh. Well, he wasn’t expecting that. Or the sudden zeal that filled Professor Juniper.

“Clarivoyance. Level-D.”

_Clarivoyance. The ability to see memories of any living person or object. Level-D. An ability activated through physical contact that is very sensitive._

Professor Juniper, then, smirked, scribbling more down on the paper. “Level-D. Is it skin-sensitive?”

Touya nodded, gone mute by the sudden energy that filled the professor. He motioned to the gloves on his hands. “I—if I touch anything with my palms, or, uh, the soles of my feet, it activates. If anyone touches _me_ , it activates too.”

“Debilitating?”

“Sometimes. I—I either space out for a bit, or collapse. Depends on what I’m seeing.”

“Does it affect even nonliving objects. Say, a vase?”

Touya nodded. Where was she going with this?

“Thank you. It was a pleasure to meet you, Touya.” Professor Juniper stood up, reaching her hand out again. Touya followed and shook the hand again. “I’ll let you know within the next week or so if you’ve gotten the job or not.”

“Uh—thank you.” He was being pushed out; he could tell. There was something about Professor Juniper that was a bit… eccentric. He knew he messed up a few times, but what was it about his ability that she suddenly…

Oh.

Professor Juniper studied the origins of Pokémon, practically history. If she got her hands on an artefact that could tell the story, then he. Oh. He didn’t even realize the ironic connection between his ability and his love of history.

“Kimura, Cheren?”

“Good luck, Cheren!” Bianca’s voice echoed throughout his skull.

Touya hoped he could get the job.

* * *

 

And he _got it._ What the hell. Touya got the job, he was officially an assistant to country-renowned Pokémon Professor Aurea Juniper, and his job was starting _today_ , the same day he got email.

 _Dear Touya Kibo,_ the email began.

_It was a pleasure getting to know you at the interview. You stood out against the rest of the applicants because of your love of history and learning new things, along with the hard work you’d put into your schooling in your past life. Of course, I’m supposed to be unbiased surrounding P.U.A.s, and while your ability allowed you to stand out against the other applicants, that was not the reason you were hired._

_Please meet me today at the laboratory at one, if you’re able to. If not, please email me a time that would work within the next week._

_Yours truly,_

_Professor Aurea M. Juniper_

He got the freaking job.

And… Touko didn’t.

“I kinda knew I wasn’t going to get it.” She admitted sheepishly, behind the divider of the room as Touya changed quickly out of his pajamas. It was already twelve-thirty, and the lab was a good mile away from their house. He’d gotten into the terrible habit of wearing his pajamas all day, but today it was going to stop.

“But you’re smart, and you’re kind, and you love Pokémon, and you’re good at battling…” Touya couldn’t find his jacket, his favorite blue jacket. Where was it? He glanced under his bed.

“Yeah, but the professor is looking for really smart people, not just people who battle well.” Touko said. “That doesn’t matter, though, I already am—” She stopped, mid-sentence.

Touya froze, and then peered around their room divider. “You’re what?”

Touko’s cheeks flushed, and she glanced away. Meatloaf lounged on her bed, stretched out and taking an afternoon nap. His sister picked the Pokémon up carefully, and then he noticed that Touko was ready to leave, too. A bag was packed next to her bed, and…

She’s leaving. “Today?”

Touko nodded. “Yeah. I was waiting until we heard from the professor, but I made this decision a while ago.” The Patrat in her arms shifted, and she gave in, returning Meatloaf to his Pokéball. “I’m going to challenge the league!”

It was always her dream, to take on the Pokémon League. And she was such a talented battler, better than Cheren and better than Eri, and she could definitely  take it on and go far. She could probably make it to the eighth gym, and maybe even the Elite Four themselves. She would go far, and Touya believed in her, but…

But she was leaving.

And Touya was going to be alone. Whether he stayed in Nuvema or left for the region, too, he wouldn’t have his sister by his side.

“Hey, Tou-tou.” His sister’s presence was by him, and he felt her hands grab his arms. Strangely enough, the ability that he’d been cursed (or gifted) with since birth, never worked on her. She was immune, or he was immune to her—one of the two—and he leaned into her arms. “I know it’s going to be hard. But it’ll be fun, too, you know? We each are starting a new adventure!”

They were. Even if Touya stayed in Nuvema, but he felt like the job at the Professor’s lab was going to be anything but stagnant. Maybe he’d travel around, too?

“We’ll see each other again.” Touko smiled, her ever-present, bright smile. It was almost blinding. “It’s not a goodbye, it’s a—”

“--See you later.” Touya finished.

* * *

 

Apparently, both Bianca and Cheren had gotten the job as well. Bianca had shown a love of learning in everything, even if her grades weren’t always that good, she always tried to improve them more. Cheren was… Well, _Cheren_.

“I’m glad all three of you could make it here on time!” Well, Touya was a few minutes late, but it didn’t seem like Professor Juniper was very timely of a person. He shifted uncomfortably from the stares that the three of them were getting from other assistants and aides. “Now, I called you here immediately for—”

“For the three starters?” Cheren interrupted. He had a habit of doing that to _everyone_ , and Touya supposed it wouldn’t be gone for just a professor. His mind just worked _too fast_ for everyone around him.

“Yep!” Professor Juniper was unaffected by the interruption. “I was originally going to send them to one of your houses, since you all live so close together, but I figured it would be easier to get everything done in one swing here.” She mentioned to an aide, who Touya recognized as Melissa.

Melissa was probably the only other native person to Nuvema who worked there. Probably because Professor Juniper was her wife, after all. When she wasn’t working with her wife, Melissa Juniper was attending the garden outside the lab, and writing a blog about gardening and being the wife to a Professor.

She held a box, with three Pokéballs inside. Professor Juniper took all three in both of her hands and released them. The light released soon began to form three creatures that Touya recognized well.

Snivy, the grass-type. Tepig, the fire-type. Oshawott, the water-type. Touya and Touko would have debats on who would get what Pokémon when both of theem were younger, as if they could afford the luxury of reserving one. But look at Touya now. He was getting one of them… for free.

“I’m aware that two of you have Pokémon already.” She motioned to Bianca and Cheren, who nodded. “Would you like to let them out, to meet the starters as well?”

“Oh, that’d be fun!” Bianca dug into her bag quickly, and Cheren pulled his only Pokéball out of his pocket, and both of them released their own Pokémon, almost in perfect sync. The familiar Lillipup and Purrloin appeared, Rufus and Cleo. “Rufus, look, one of these Pokémon is going to be joining us!”

The Lillipup barked, wagging his tail.

The three starters looked inquisitively at the other two Pokémon.  Tepig ran up immediately to the other two, full of energy, and introduced himself in their own language. Rufus barked enthusiastically, and Cleo looked at him before her tail wagged, once. Curiosity or annoyance, no one knew.

One of the starters hung back—the grass-type, Snivy. She seemed a bit more hesitant with the other two, before she looked up at Touya in confusion, curiosity, something.

Touya wanted the Snivy. So _badly_. It seemed like she wanted him, too, but she was a bit shy.

“So, who wants to go first?”

“With all due respect, Professor…” Cheren adjusted his glasses. “I believe the Pokémon have already chosen.”

It was true. Though Tepig had introduced himself enthusiastically to Rufus first, he seemed more intrigued by Cleo. Oshawott had tripped on his way running over, and Rufus helped him up, and they both chittered and barked at each other. Snivy, on the other hand, was staring straight at Touya.

Professor Juniper looked at all three, before nodding. “I suppose so.”

Melissa handed them each the respective Pokéball. “Oshawott is full of energy, Bianca, but he can be a bit clumsy sometimes. He misplaces his scallop on his stomach a lot, so keep an eye on it if he’s out of his Pokéball.”

“Of course!” Bianca was already holding both of her Pokémon, Oshawott and Rufus tightly.

“Cheren, Tepig is full of energy like Oshawott, too. But he can be a bit headstrong, sometimes.” Melissa explained. “He has a habit of running into danger too much, and his genus catches colds easily. I don’t think you’d end up anywhere that’s snowing or raining anytime soon, but make sure he at least has something on to keep him warm.” Melissa said.

Cheren nodded. “Anything specific I should look out for?”

“I think I have a sweater I could give you for him, if it does get cold and wet.”

“Thank you.”

Melissa stopped at Touya, last. She looked him over, once, and he felt like he was shrinking under her gaze. Snivy had approached Touya carefully, following Melissa’s lead. “Snivy is very shy and small, I’m sure you noticed. She was the runt of her litter. Keep an eye on her outside of her ball, she can be a bit flighty sometimes. But she’s a great battler.”

Touya nodded.

“Thank you, Melissa!” Professor Juniper said. “I’m sure you two know how to input your Pokémon’s names, right?” Cheren and Bianca were already fumbling with their Pokéballs, and Touya looked over his. He’d seen Meatloaf’s ball before, but it was a much older version, and didn’t have a screen built-into the ball. It was small and thin, almost unnoticeable, but the screen did fade to black with his touch. Words flew across the screen.

_SNIVY – LV 5 – FEMALE – OVERGROW_

“Ah!” Bianca leaned over Touya’s shoulder suddenly, mindful of not touching him. “When Snivy appears on the screen again, double tap it.” The words were looping around, and sure enough, the word _SNIVY_ appeared again. After tapping on it twice, it froze. The word was spaced out, and it had underlines after the Y for a few more spaces. “It’s a bit like a combination lock. Scroll up and down for the letters. It’s a bit tricky to do the first time.”

Touya nodded. What was he going to call Snivy? He didn’t want to call her something that _every_ grass-type was called. He leaned down slowly to Snivy’s eye-level. “What kind of name do you want?” He asked, quietly. He wanted something from mythology. “Gaea? Artemis? Chloris? Meliae?”

She chirped, the first noise that he’d heard from her, at the last one. Meliae it was— _Mel_ for short. _Tree nymphs from mythology_. The name could also be related to Melissa’s, though unintended, the realization did make Touya blush.

Bianca was right about the nicknaming system being hard to use for the first time, but he slowly got the nickname down, and Mel was his Pokémon.

Mel was _his Pokémon_. Touya had a Pokémon. Even if she was shy and not sure about him yet.

“Now, your first assignment! Melissa, if will…” Melissa’s _wife-status_ really gave her a lot of opportunities at work, it seemed. Melissa nodded, and brought out another box, of strange, rectangular objects that looked like the phone Touya had stuffed in his back pocket. They each had a different color—red, yellow, blue. The three primary colors, no less.

Cheren’s eyes lit up immediately. “Are those Pokédexes? The newest model?”

Professor Juniper nodded. “Correct, Cheren! These Pokédexes are the newest model, top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art…” She looked for a few words, turning to Melissa.

“Fresh out of the factory?” Melissa suggested, shrugging.

“Brand-new.” Professor Juniper said. “For our research into the origins of Pokémon, we require a lot of data on various Pokémon, across the region. A lot of the aides and assistants can’t leave this area and travel on foot because of family, relationship, commitment issues, or other reasons. That’s where you three come in.”

Touya liked where this was going. A bit. There was a lot of anxiety in it, but he was liking what he was hearing for his first assignment. And he wasn’t going to be the only one doing it, at least.

“I want you three to travel across the region, gathering information on Pokémon as you do! The cool thing about these Pokédexes is, if you would like the honors, honey—” Professor Juniper held the box of Pokédexes as Melissa took one of the three, the yellow one, and pointed it at Rufus.

The Pokédex beeped, indicating a scan, and Melissa turned it around, showing all three of them. There was a general description, probably from the older dex, and a blank space at the bottom.

“Older versions of the Pokédex didn’t allow for direct note-taking into the system.” Melissa explained, handing the yellow Pokédex to Bianca. “These ones allow direct note-taking, and it is added to our system here once you have a WiFi connection in any town.”

“So we’re able to take notes on this instead of having a separate notebook?” Cheren asked as he was given the red Pokédex. Touya got the blue, which matched perfectly with the color of his favorite jacket. Mel already had all her information placed in, along with the information of Oshawott and Tepig.

“And if one of you catches a Pokémon the rest don’t, you’re able to sync the information together.” Professor Juniper explained. “Fascinating, isn’t it?”

Touya nodded. All of this was very fascinating, but he didn’t pack for a journey like his sister did, and, apparently, both Cheren and Bianca. All of his stuff was still at home. Maybe he should’ve seen it coming? He’d have to head back home to get packed and say goodbye to his family.

“Now, you have your assignment!” Professor Juniper said, pointing at the Pokédexes the three of them held. “You’ll get paid bi-weekly, not based on the amount of Pokémon you run into, more by the amount of notes you put in, but the least you’ll get for your travels is 5000 Poké bi-weekly.”

5000 Poké every other week? That was a _lot of money,_ Touya’s eyes widened in surprise. And that’s the bare minimum they’ll be paid for this? It’s a job, it’s a real job—Touya expected minimum, not nearly 5000 _bi-weekly_. Amazing. Astounding. Holy Arceus. He didn’t want to get into this job just for the money, and he was glad that Professor Juniper didn’t mention anything about money in the interview. It was a pleasant surprise.

“You can leave whenever you want to, but please take your time! Do tourist-things! Enjoy yourself out there—hey, maybe even take on the league challenge or something!” Professor Juniper said, excited. “I’m sure you three have stuff to do now, right?”

Bianca nodded, filled with the same zeal as the professor. Cheren was a bit more stoic than her, but he was smirking and his Tepig was running around his ankles in circles, pumped. And Touya felt like…

Well, he felt like he was floating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, Touya got the job! Well, of course he did. And it's finally the start of the story, with his "friends" Bianca and Cheren by his side! 
> 
> Touya also told Professor Juniper about it. I think I explained it well enough, but here's the gist-- hiring or not hiring someone based on disability/status in Unova is illegal, including People with Unnatural Abilities (PUAs). Since Touya's not on any like, official registration for them in Unova, it's his secret to tell, and I think it was right to be upfront about it instead of having an episode in front of Professor Juniper later on. Also, with Professor Juniper's research, it just happens that it works very well-- though as the email said, it wasn't the _only_ reason Touya was hired, though that was more 50% Professor Juniper covering her ass to make sure she was fair and impartial and not planning on using Touya for his ability. Let's just say she jumped the gun on hiring him, and realized when writing the email "oh shit I don't want to abuse this possibly traumatized kid for his psychic abilities", and covered it up. She'd ask before making Touya use his ability.
> 
> Oh, and Level-D just means his ability is touch-activated. 
> 
> I was considering having Touko be a fourth-aide to Professor Juniper, but there's only three starters and three Pokédexes, so... I didn't give Touko the job. She's pretty much going to go out and do her own stuff. She's actually relieved she didn't get it, because it would just be more work for her than she wanted (even though it's an easy job), she has more time to train Meatloaf and her future team to take on the gym challenge. We'll run into her a bit more often than you run into N, which is actually a lot. 
> 
> We👏Love👏And👏Support👏Healthy👏Sibling👏Relationships
> 
> N does have two older sisters. Could their relationship be a foil to Touko and Touya's? Perhaps; not intended. This fic might as well be called "tin foil" due to the amount of times I've mentioned foils in the notes, I swear. 
> 
> I really liked adding Snivy in, but I didn't think of the reality of the name of Mel and Professor Juniper's wife until, well, when about Touya realized it. I think it's interesting to give Touya Snivy because in all B&W/BW2 fanfics out there, he always has Oshawott. And I love all three starters, don't get me wrong, but I think Snivy's cool, too. And so are grass-types. Snivy's cute, and I think she'll work well with the Pokémon Touya will add to his team.
> 
> Melissa is Professor Juniper's wife. Because it's my story and if I wanna make the professor a lesbian, I can. If you don't like same-sex ships... what are you doing here. Endgame ship is NxTouya, it's gonna get gay.
> 
> Speaking of that... We're getting closer to N _we're getting closer to N--_
> 
> Touya is 100% behind on trainer abilities compared to Cheren, Bianca, and even Touko. Why? Even though Meatloaf was meant for both Touya and Touko, he was afraid of hurting the Patrat when they first got him and never really grew a relationship with him. He knows stuff from school, but out of all of his classes, the Battle Training classes were his least-favorite (despite being good enough to be salutatorian) 
> 
> I don't mean to have so many days between chapters, but life's like that sometimes, you know? So see you guys whenever I finish chapter three 
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> (we're getting closer to N)


	3. Youth

He didn’t have much to pack. The Kibo family was okay when it came to money, but Touya didn’t own anything for a Pokémon journey—nothing for sleeping, for feeding him or Pokémon, or anything. Touko didn’t pack anything else, he figured, just enough to get her to Accumula, where the Pokémon Center would no doubt have items like that.

 _That’s my plan, too, I guess._ He thought, placing the final folded shirt into his bag. He didn’t carry too much on him, in fact, he looked like he normally would, going to school. Sans the awful uniform. His blue jacket was zipped up to his chin, sleeves covering his gloved hands—he really looked dressed for winter, despite the fact that it was summer.

It was an airy jacket, but still.

Touya threw in an extra plain t-shirt into his bag. He wasn’t one for wearing t-shirts, much, due to his abilities being tactile, however if he was able to be in solitude at some point, he’d prefer to not have heatstroke, thank you very much.

His parents were expecting him to leave the same day as Touko. Not particularly because he and his sister were inseparable since birth, but because both of them knew the Professor and her hijinks, and his job would no doubt take him outside of the town. They’d even prepared a few things for him, including a lunch for him and Mel.

His Pokémon. It was weird to think that Touya had a Pokémon now, but he did. Mel was a shy, observant creature. The Pokédex told him about her species, how intelligent and calm the Snivy family tended to be, but they never told him that they were shy. It must have been Mel, in particular, who adopted that personality on her own. However, she did keep up the pace with Touya quite well, and even though she hasn’t uttered a word, he felt like…

… they understood each other.

Mel was an outcast, from her species. Touya didn’t need his abilities to know that, looking at how the other two starters had shunned her a bit.

But that was for the better, perhaps. They both had the same understanding—they were both outcasts, perfect for each other.

* * *

 

Bianca and Cheren were waiting right at Route One, by the time Touya got there. Neither of them had their Pokémon out, which made Touya feel a bit awkward with Mel by his side. But Mel, despite her shy tendencies, was pretty sweet, and he felt bad putting her in the Pokéball. Even though they were supposed to be comfortable. Whatever.

“Oh, Touya!” Bianca smiled, before reaching into her bag, pulling out her Pokédex. “I know that, well… We don’t really know each other well, do we?”

Touya shook his head. He knew _basics_ , as much as any brother would know about his sister’s friends. And maybe a little bit more, based on what kind of knowledge.

“I thought we should exchange dex numbers! Professor Juniper was telling me about this after you two left.” She opened the Pokédex, and swiped down. There was a message list, and a number—003. “All Pokédexes have a certain number, it’s how you exchange information. But you can also message on it and stuff. See, this is Professor Juniper’s…” She opened a chat, with the number _001_ at the top. The only thing in it was a received message, automated, probably, with the Pokédex information of _Minccino._ “Here, take out your dexes.”

Cheren and Touya followed her lead, watching as she pressed a few buttons and pulled up a contact list. Cheren was added as _002_ , given the nickname “Chere-Bear”.

“Really, Bianca?” Cheren asked, narrowing his eyes, glasses glinting in the summer sun. “That’s an unprofessional name.”

“Oh, hush,” Bianca laughed, adding Touya— _004_ —as “Psy-Kid”. Not subtle as all.

Strangely enough, he… Liked it. Which was strange, but getting a nickname, even as diminutive as that, made his heart feel a bit warmer. Maybe he could be friends with these two?

“And, look.” She pressed _new_ _message_ , adding both of their dex numbers into a chat together-- _Prof. Assistant Squad!_ “We can message each other when we’re far away, and share information with each other!”

“It’s impressive, albeit the names are rather childish.” Cheren commented.

“C’mon, it’s supposed to be fun. No one’s gonna see the nicknames.”

“You should sure _hope_ not.” The conversation reminded Touya of simpler times, when the four of them (with Touko) would be walking to school. Touya would always stand back as the banter between the three of them rang out. Bianca; carefree, klutzy, a little bit dramatic. Cheren; careful, disciplined, smart. Touko; a mix of the two. It balanced out quite well, but…

Touko was missing, the middle ground of the banter.

He felt a stab in his heart, but Touya knew that they’d run into each other. At some point.

“We should really get going, if we want to get to Accumula by noon.” Cheren said, checking the time on his Pokédex.

“Oh, yeah, probably!” Bianca smiled, turning to Touya. “C’mon, let’s take out first step onto Route One together!”

“We’ve done it before—”

“But not as trainers!” Bianca interrupted. “Or, well, not as _assistants_ , I guess.”

Cheren’s face flushed as Bianca took his hand. The other thing that Touya missed—the obvious crush, both of them had on each other. Bianca reached her other hand out for Touya.

He hesitated. He didn’t really _touch_ people often, even with his gloves on. Paranoid that, even though gloves act as insulation for his powers, one day his one failsafe would _fail_ him, and he’d be subjected to visions that he couldn’t control. Not to mention, the feeling of skin-on-skin made everything itch and burn, and he couldn’t stand it.

He felt Mel rub up against his leg—she was so quiet, Touya forgot that the grass-type was even there. No, she was leaning against it, strangely, almost pushing him…

Touya sighed, taking the hand nervously. No one could feel the sweat on his palms, at least.

Bianca swung her leg out, taking a dramatic step. Cheren took a step, and Touya followed, awkwardly. The three of them had taken their first steps into the world as adults… technically. It was a step that they were all familiar with, but it felt invigorating, almost freeing, to take that first step.

“Awesome!” Bianca let go of their hands, twirling around. There was something jovial about the way that Bianca existed that always made Touya jealous. Was it, despite the pain that she had been through in her life, she always remained joyful and positive? Or was it immaturity from not being allowed to grow and experience life as a child? Either way, watching Bianca call out her Pokémon and demand a battle against him and Cheren—

Wait, what?

“If Touya is okay with it, then.” Cheren said, calling out just his Tepig, who he had called Antony. _Cleopatra and Antony_ , Touya realized.

Bianca’s Oshawott was called Oliver.

Touya was an average battler. He wouldn’t say that he was too good or too bad, however, he never liked the way kids like Eri and her group fought during school-sanctioned battles. They were always too violent, too forceful, never understanding. Their Pokémon were wild and reckless, like them, and Touya never got far, though he tried.

He glanced at Mel, who was looking up at him. “Do you want to battle?” He asked.

Mel glanced at the Oshawott and Tepig, before nodding.

He looked up. “Okay.”

“We’ll just fight with our starters, then.” Cheren said. “Triple battle, because neither of us have enough for a rotation battle.”

They didn’t do much practice with triple battles in school—Touya remembers double battles against his classmates, and even one class on reverse battles, but rarely triple battles. Battle royales were also popular, but they were usually only done after exams.

They found a patch of grass off of the route, which was big enough for them to fight in. Luckily the starters were small and low-leveled, so the damaged that they could do to the surrounding area would be minimal, but if there were any travelers on Route One (which, although rare, could possibly happen during the summer, especially for trainers looking to visit the Professor before their own Pokémon journeys), they’d be out of the way.

“Alright! Let’s go, Oliver.” Bianca called, and the Oshawott rushed proudly into the circle. He fell on his face in the process, but stood up immediately, unbothered.

“Antony, let’s do this.” Cheren was more reserved, but there was a waver of excitement in his voice and he was smiling.

Touya looked down at Mel, who looked up at him. They shared a glance, before Mel calmly walked out onto the field.

“Wait, who’s going first?”

“Fire-water-grass?” Cheren suggested. It was childish, but it got the job done—Bianca would be first, Touya second, Cheren last, though they would probably forget the order at some point and just go all for it as much as they could with small Pokémon who could barely hurt a bug-type.

“Oliver, use water gun! Get them both!” Oliver took a few steps back, quickly bracing himself for letting out a blast of water. He held his scallop in front of the rushing water, causing it to branch off into two. Not perfectly aimed, but it did get close.

“Antony, look out!”

Touya didn’t need to tell Mel much—she jumped out of the way, flipping back gracefully. Melissa was right, he realized. Mel was shy, but a good battler. “U-Use leer.” He stuttered out.

Mel nodded, and _winked_ at Antony. Touya hadn’t told her where to aim with it, but it was better to take out Antony first then suffer the brunt of the fire-type later. Speaking of which….

“Antony, ember on Mel.” It was strange, hearing his Pokémon’s name come out of someone else. In most battles, it would just be “the Patrat” or “the Pidove”, but everyone knew the nicknames of all the Pokémon by now. Mel swung out of the way, but a bit of the fire did brush her arm, and she swat at it, patting it out.

The Pokédex was handy on watching out for your Pokémon’s health, though it was the same feature most smartphones had nowadays. Mel was still going strong, at least.

“Let’s try this, then. Oliver, tackle!” Bianca pointed directly at Touya and Mel. Oliver charged, heading straight for Mel. And Touya’s legs. They both jumped out of the way, and Oliver tripped, falling on his face.

It seemed he and Bianca had thought of the same strategy—take out the Pokémon that was super-effective against you. Cheren was going for the kill, straight to Mel, to deal with Oliver with a strategy that only he could come up with.

“Mel, vine whip.” Touya said. He didn’t know _what_ to do with Vine whip, he hoped that Mel would get an idea of what to do with it. And she did, her vines stretching out and grabbing Oliver from behind and swinging him straight at Antony, using Oliver as a projectile. They collided immediately, both standing back up, but weaker than they did before.

Could Touya actually _win_ this? He had the upper hand—or, well, Mel did, because she had two separate vines that could act as hands, both of them stretched out and held the same way a boxer would hold their hands in a ring. Mel was in a completely different zone, too. The shy Snivy he’d received only today with sorrowful eyes had a focus, and her focus was _to win_.

“Antony, you okay?” Cheren asked, watching as his Tepig stood up, shaking off Oliver. The fire-type nodded. “Alright. Ember, again!”

The ember missed Mel. She was out in the sunlight, after all, and her leafy tail was a bright green color, absorbing the energy of the sun. The more sun she got, the faster her movements.

“Oliver, split the water gun again!” Oliver did the same trick as before, holding his scallop to his mouth and shooting out jets of water. This time, it hit Antony straight, on, and Mel, too, but Mel ducked out of it faster than the fire-type could.

Antony was looking more roughed up, but all three of the Pokémon really were. Touya could end it, he realized, if Mel just went for the fire-type, because then he’d be able to take down Oliver, as well. “Tackle—” He began, and Mel immediately got the cue, going straight for Antony.

“Use ember before she—”

 _Thud._ Antony was knocked out. Touya felt a little bit of pride in that. Not many people were able to take down Cheren, of all the students in their class. He only had that advantage because of their situation and triple battle, probably, but it still brought a bit of _something_ to Touya’s heart. It didn’t take long for the battle to finish, after that. Oliver tried to stand against Mel, but her type-advantage won in the end.

“Wow, that was awesome!” Bianca said, pulling out a few potions. She gave one to each of them, a simple spray and the Pokémon would be good as new. Or that’s what the ads said, at least, Touya knew that it was only akin to putting on a bandage and antibacterial cream.

Mel flinched as it stung into her burn. “Sorry,” Touya commented under his breath, before looking at the potion. They were easily disposable and eco-friendly. All a trainer had to do was crush it in their hand or feet, and the casing would provide nutrients for the soil. A Unovan specialty.

“That was good,” Cheren said, smirking. “It’s already eleven, though, we should really start heading to Accumula if you need to pick up anything.”

“Oh, right!” Bianca stood suddenly, returning Oliver to his Pokéball for a bit of a rest. Antony returned, too, but Mel was indignant to not be put in the Pokéball.

Touya supposed that it would prove to be a problem down the road, Mel’s apparent distaste for the Pokéball, but like most of his problems, he pushed it aside. She was still small enough to go in most buildings, nowhere close to the height limit. Not even her final evolution would meet that height limit for buildings like the Pokémon Center, but it would be considered a bit rude to have a giant Serperior wandering around an enclosed space.

* * *

 

Route One was familiar. Touya had walked it many times on his way to school, following close behind his sister and her friends. Pokémon didn’t tend to attack much on this route, there were only a few times he could recall when Meatloaf or Rufus or Cleo were ever really needed. Most of the same Pokémon—Patrat, Lillipup, Purrloin, Pidove—existed on this route, a perfect route for getting your first or second team member.

Touya didn’t know if he would ever have a full team. Having six different Pokémon with various diets was a challenge to take care of, let alone one. He didn’t need six Pokémon, either, unless he was going to be daring and take on the Pokémon League.

Which wasn’t even a second thought to him, until he was left to his solitude as Bianca and Cheren soared ahead. Both of them wanted to get through some of Route Two and Accumula by sundown and camp outside, while Touya was considering taking it slower.

Nothing wrong with taking it slowly, either. Many people took their time on their journey, and he preferred being alone, anyway. Or, well, alone with Pokémon, he found, growing an almost immediate attachment to Mel, who was the same way towards him. She shied away from both Bianca and Cheren and their Pokémon, all of them being too loud for her, and preferred the company of Touya, he found. She was much more… affectionate, than he expected, and was a bit disappointed as he avoided her touch.

It wasn’t that Touya hated her. He just… Psychic abilities.

“Mel, I need to tell you something.” Talking to Pokémon felt more natural to him. He was a shy, quiet kid, with a shy, quiet Pokémon, in like company. He sat down on the side of the route under a tree, pulling out his packed sandwich and the small bag of pretzels that his parents had given to him for Mel.

She cocked her head in curiosity.

“I’m not… I’m not, like, being mean by avoiding you. Your affection, I mean.” Even though talking to Pokémon felt natural, Touya still _sucked_ at it. “I just. I have these psychic powers, and they’re activated through touch. It doesn’t activate through clothes, I guess it’s just a bad habit that I have. Avoiding touch. I don’t hate you, it’s just-- just so you know.”

Mel chittered at him, in response. She didn’t speak much. “Sni. Sni, Snivy.” She responded. _Okay, I understand,_ she seemed to say. She pulled out another pretzel, munching on it. Feeding human food to Pokémon was okay, depending on the type of food and the elemental type, and she seemed to love the pretzels.

They still had another fifteen minutes of walking to go before making it to Accumula. Knowing the others, Bianca and Cheren were already there.

“Do you… Do you like battling, Mel?”

“Vi.” Mel nodded, more focused on her pretzels than actual conversation.

Maybe he could take on the Pokémon League. It was a grueling challenge, and Touya knew he probably wouldn’t make it past the first few gyms, but it was good for practice and exercising your Pokémon. That’s why it’s called a _gym_ , after all. Most people who lived close to a gym with Pokémon visited often, even if they weren’t on an official League challenge, so they can stretch their legs with their Pokémon and battle it out with a few trainers.

No one ever really finished the entire challenge. If they got all of the badges, they’d mostly call it quits or try to get to the Elite Four. Try and try and mostly fail. It would be good for Mel and other future teammates to get a bit more battle experience, wouldn’t it?

Touya needed more time to think about this, obviously. He stuffed the sandwich bag into his pocket and Mel handed him hers, completely void of pretzels. Seems like she liked salty foods.

* * *

 

Accumula was just like he’d left it, a week ago. A quiet, homely town, that could qualify as a city but not quite. It was a popular spot for elderly couples to retire, but also for young families to raise their kids. It had the school that Touya graduated from, but Touya wanted to avoid that at all costs.

His first stop was the Pokémon Center. Most of them across Unova had general stores in them, but Accumula was one of the first stops of a trainer’s journey and stocked a bit more. Accumula, Castelia, and Nimbasa were all popular starts to Pokémon journeys, and most had a camping section, too.

With what they could give, his parents gave him a bit more money on his card to buy some camping supplies, as they did with Touko earlier. His father’s mathematical brain figured out exactly how much they’d both need for a tent, sleeping bag, and some sort of way to cook food, along with a few things of food for the road.

Touya picked out rather bland choices, mostly on the cheaper end. A sleeping bag, an easy-to-set-up-two-person tent (cheaper than the single, weirdly enough), a bag to fit everything, and a pot to cook over the stovetop. He did get quite a few freeze-dried meals. Astronaut food had been soaring in popularity for trainers for the past few years, out of convenience and price, and he got a few breakfast ones and dinner ones.

“Vi.” Mel had wondered off quietly when Touya was glancing at some of the astronaut treats, returning with a giant bag of pretzels held in her vines.

“Mel.” He let out a soft chuckle. “We’ll get you some pretzels, but that’s a big bag. Can you find a smaller one?”

“Sni, Snivy.” Sadly, Mel turned around and walked off, still carrying the large pretzel bag above her head. She returned with a smaller—and more reasonably priced—bag. “Vi?”

“Don’t go eating all of it at once, okay?”

After buying all of his camping supplies and a few days’ worths of Pokémon food—it was labeled “GRASS-NORMAL-FAIRY”, strangely enough—Touya still had a bit of money left over in the end, which he left in his trainer account. A little bit of extra money wouldn’t hurt having. Everything fit in his bag, as planned, and it fits neatly, too, and it wasn’t too heavy. Trainer bags had pockets for everything, and he found a place to carry the bag of pretzels safely where they wouldn’t be crushed.

He tossed his old bag, now empty from his extra clothes, into a nearby box labeled “donations”. He didn’t need it to take up space in his bag and figured some kid would see it and want it, anyway. Hefting the new one over his back, he started out of the Pokémon Center, Mel right at his feet, into the Accumula air.

It was only two o’clock, now—he’d made good timing. Though, there was a crowd forming by the park, now. What was that about? Curious, Touya went to investigate, standing on the edge of the crowd. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY I KNOW I SAID N WOULD BE IN THIS CHAPTER BUT I HIT 3K WORDS AND DECIDED "I should end it here"
> 
> So N is definitely gonna be in next chapter!! Finally!!
> 
> I've finished all of my exams, but I have graduation next week and then I'm leaving the country for May, so updates will probably be put on hold until, like, June. Unless I can finish and introduce N in the next week, then it'll be a while. I have no choice in this trip. 
> 
> Also, fun fact if you look at the names of the first three chapters? The first letters? Spell GAY totally unplanned but I am 100% here for it.
> 
> I hope I did the battle justice! It's been a long time since I've written a Pokémon battle. I wanted Touya to win, but he's not always gonna win. Touko and Cheren are the best battlers, tied in skill, while Bianca and Touya are tied in skill. They're both above average but Touya doubts his skills a lot and isn't good at verbalizing. Mel understands him, they're both old, quiet souls who understand each other. 
> 
> I love Mel so much. I hope you guys love Mel, too. 
> 
> Communicate👏with👏your👏Pokémon👏they 👏 are 👏 your 👏 friends 👏👏👏
> 
> Touya is awkward. I love him.
> 
> There's no interesting commentary I can provide here, so yeah. See you guys in the next chapter (hopefully in June, if it all goes well). Good luck on finals, if you have them!


	4. Natural

Touya hated crowds. He learned how to avoid them at a young age-- the _claustrophobic_ _aura_ pushed him away, his skin crawling like fleas were chewing at his flesh. If he ever had to deal with one, he would distance himself as far as he could, and standing at the edge of this crowd was okay. He was fine.

He noticed Cheren’s brightly colored jacket near the edge and nudged a bit closer to the people of the crowd, following everyone’s line of sight to the park, where a group of people stood.

These people were certainly strange. Unova was no stranger to owning rather extreme fashion styles, the Elesa of Nimbasa coming to mind immediately, but the man who stood in the front addressing everyone stood out. He wore a strange robe, with green hair falling around it, surrounding his head like a veil. His collar of the robe stood out, creating what looked like a _crown;_ the pattern of the fabric too far away to tell what exactly it was.

He was so _familiar_ , Touya couldn’t put his finger on it.

Then, the man spoke, and Touya felt sick. Immediate sick, with his stomach turning into knots and something going off in his head. Mel stood by his side at his feet, holding onto the leg of his jeans.

“My name is Ghetsis Harmonia, and I am the Chamberlain and one of the Seven Sages of Plasma. And I am here today to talk to you about Pokémon liberation.”

_Oh._ It was one of those things. Unova was also no stranger to strange groups of people, strange cults. Most of the time they were harmless, their beliefs tied to the great mythology of the region.

The way the man spoke set off warning signals in Touya’s brain, yet, he found himself transfixed by the way he spoke. “Most people believe that we humans and Pokémon are ppartners, codependent individuals, that have come to live together because we want and need each other to survive. However, is that really the truth? Or is it that us humans only assume that this is the truth?”

Mel pulled harder on his pantleg.

“Pokémon are creatures with their own thoughts, lives, stories, personalities. But are they not also subject to the selfish demands of their trainers? We have seen, in other places in the world, where this selfishness takes control of humans. We have seen Team Rocket enslave and kill Pokémon for their own profit, we have seen humans try and control legendries with powers that we cannot comprehend to change the world. Do we not remember the great drought in Hoenn when humans tried to control the great land-beast Groudon? Do we not remember all the suffering that we have inflicted on Pokémon for our own conflicted, selfish reasons?”

It’s true, isn’t it—Touya thought of watching the news, just a few years ago, as the ocean surrounding Hoenn began to dry up, and the legendary Groudon had been awakened by a mad scientist leading a group of like-minded individuals to create more land for Pokémon to live on. He thought of Team Rocket, he thought of how those battles were fought before he was born. He thought of Sinnoh, only last year, losing sense of time and space.

But, wait. There was something else about the conflicts, as well. There had been trainers, standing strong with their Pokémon companions, who had stood up and defeated those evils.

… _Right?_ Touya was beginning to doubt everything.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, Pokémon are different from humans. They are living beings that contain unknown potential. They are living beings from whom we humans have much to learn. Tell me, what is our responsibility toward these wonderful beings called Pokémon?”

The crowd began to mumble. _What is it? Friends? Family? Partners? Equals?_

“We at Plasma advocate for the truth of the world. That Pokémon are to be liberated from humans who seek to control them. Then, and only then, will humans and Pokémon truly be equals. Everyone, I end my words here today by imploring you to consider the relationship between people and Pokémon... and the correct way to proceed. We sincerely appreciate your attention."

The man—Ghetsis—did he make sense? Was that the true meaning of the relationship of humans and Pokémon in their world?

_No._

The illusion that the man had placed over him had shattered like glass. An ancient story came to mind, a fable that was passed down from the years. Of why people and Pokémon came together. When the world was new, Pokémon worried about the safety of early humans, and decided that it would be best to help them out. Become partners, become equals.

Pokémon and humans were meant to be together.

The crowd dissipated as soon as Ghetsis left, leaving only a few members left. Mumbles and grumbles echoed through the crowd about Pokémon liberation.

* * *

 

Cheren glanced over. “Did any of that make sense to you, Touya?”

Touya shook his head.

“It sounded sane at first, but near the end his argument fell through. Not that I’d actually consider what he was speaking of, anyway. I’ve had Cleo since I was ten, I wouldn’t just release her like this.” Said purrloin wrapped her head around Cheren’s leg and purred.

Touya nodded. He wasn’t good at speaking with a lot of people, luckily, both Cheren and Bianca did plenty enough talking. He glanced back down at Mel while Cheren added more to his counter-argument, and noticed she was staring at something.

He looked up.

Just a few feet away, there was another man—Touya figured he was around the same age, and had green hair that curled around his face, pulled up into a low ponytail. Grey eyes locked with his own—oh, this man was staring at him? He felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment and turned his attention back to Cheren. But the strange man had seen and was now walking over.

“Sni, sni, snivy!” Mel said, moving as a block between Touya and the man.

“I mean no harm.” The man smiled, responding to Mel, before looking up at Touya and Cheren, who promptly stopped his argument. “Hello. My name is N, and I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.”

“About the liberation thing that happened, just now?” Cheren asked.

N—it was a strange name, Touya had to admit, maybe it was short for something—nodded. “Yes. I was intrigued by your opinions on it.”

Cheren hummed. “Very well. I believe it was a very compelling argument at the beginning, the man had his point carried through. Near the end he faltered, and it brought the argument with it. I could care less about the subject, personally, but there was passion in it.”

N blinked back at Cheren. Touya would know, because he couldn’t stop watching him. There was something familiar about this _N_ , something scratching at the back of his mind. “And you, then?”

“M-Me?”

N nodded, locking eyes again. Steel grey, Touya noted.

“W-well, I…” He took a deep breath. “I- I disagree with it.”

“You do?”

Touya nodded. He wasn’t good at explaining things, unless they were dealing with history, or mythology. That he could do. But his own opinion? Nope.

“Oh, pardon me. I never asked for your names.”

“I’m Cheren, and this is Touya.” Cheren took over. “We’re both assistants working for professor Juniper, and should probably get going to meet our colleague in Route Two…” That was a blatant lie, but even Touya could pick up on Cheren’s signals to this mysterious N— _Please leave, we need to go._

“The professor, hm?” There was a sour look on N’s face. “I see. Before you leave, do you have time for a battle?”

“Me? Well…” Cheren reached for the Pokéball belonging to Antony.

“No, not you.” N turned and looked again at Touya. “ _You_. Your Pokémon… When she spoke to me, her voice was different. I would like to hear it again.”

“Voice?” Cheren questioned. “Do you mean you can understand Pokémon?”

N nodded. Cheren glanced over at Touya, pulling him aside and giving the stranger one finger up, to indicate that they’d only be a minute. Out of earshot of the aloof and strange man, Cheren questioned, “Do you want to battle him?”

Touya shrugged. “I think… I think he’s like me.” Touya spoke quietly, looking back at N, who was watching them the whole time. The only person he could possibly understand would be _him_ , Cheren’s back was against the guy.

“What—like, a PUA?”

Touya nodded, then. PUAs were uncommon—and rare. Touya only knew of _himself_. If this _N_ person could really understand the voice of Mel, to the degree that even he couldn’t, then he had to be a PUA. Plus, there was something else familiar about N, and he couldn’t put his finger on it. It was like a word on the tip of his tongue, unknown to the mind but crystal clear to the heart.

“O-okay. I’ll, I’ll battle you.” Touya said, louder than he’s probably spoken in his life to someone (sans his sister, of course).

N smiled. “Thank you, Touya.”

* * *

 

Cheren stood aside from the battle as they moved closer to the park. N had called out his own Purrloin (which didn’t have a nickname, adding to the enigma that N was) and Touya sent out Mel.

He was generous enough to give Touya the first move.

“Mel…” She understood immediately and glared down at her opponent. An effective leer, which sent a shiver down the other Pokémon’s spine.

“Purrloin, scratch.” The purple feline reared back before charging on all fours, claws extended. Mel pushed herself out of the way gracefully with the use of her vines, landing on the other side of her attacker. He reared back and growled, waiting for further instruction.

“Vine whip.” Again, he didn’t give much instruction to Mel. She _knew_ what she was doing, and she understood the idea that went through Touya’s head. Her vines wrapped around Purrloin’s midsection and flipped him over, and he hit the ground. Hard. _Critical-hit!_ , a videogame would describe the attack.

N flinched at the sight. “Purrloin, are you alright?”

The Pokémon pushed himself back up. Okay, but could be _better_. “Purrr. Purr, purrlion.” N nodded, understanding what the Pokémon had said—so Touya thought.

Maybe he was jumping too quickly onto his theory that _N was like him._ Where was the proof? He was just a rather strange person. Maybe it was just a quirk of his.

Purrloin reared back, opening his mouth wide, fangs glinting in the afternoon sunlight, and—oh, his claws stretch out and scratch across Mel’s back. Purrloin’s claws get snagged on one of Mel’s scales, and as she cries out in pain, Touya feels it in his chest, too. “Mel—” His Pokémon was one step ahead of him, using her vines to release Purrloin and flip him over, again.

N flinched as his Pokémon hits the ground. Purrloin stood back up, ready to fight, and glanced back at his trainer.

“I concede.” N said, putting his hands in the air and standing back. There was a bit of shock in Purrloin’s face, for a second, as _he_ understood the news, but looking at his trainer, the cat Pokémon sat down and began to clean his paws.

Cheren stood, aghast. Touya called Mel back over, taking out a potion he had bought just earlier and spraying her wounds with it. _He was okay with it_. It didn’t count as a win, for him, but Touya didn’t care.

“You still could have gone on for longer.” Cheren said, in a voice Touya recognized too much from school—his _condescending_ tone. Not entirely a _“I’m smarter than you”_ tone, but it was close enough to it. He’d heard it used on teachers, students, people Cheren never thought highly of (and thankfully, never on Touya himself). “Was there a reason you ended that fight early?”

N didn’t flinch under the scrutinizing gaze from Touya. He merely picked up Purrloin and said, “I do not believe it is right for Pokémon to battle until they cannot anymore.” N then turned to Touya, as Purrloin climbed around his shoulders and rested there, like Touya had seen in the cartoons of Pokémon trainers, and smiled at him. It was an awkward smile, but it was warm. “Thank you for the battle, Touya. Your Pokémon… I’ve never heard a Pokémon say such things…” He trailed off, glancing down at Mel. “As long as Pokémon are confined in Poké Balls... Pokémon will never become perfect beings. I have to change the world for Pokémon, because they're my friends.”

After saying that, the mysterious stranger N turned around and left without a goodbye.

Touya watched him, mutely. That _N_ had truly been a character—and he felt, deep in his soul, that N was also like him. That he also had some strange psychic ability. Talking to Pokémon? He’d never heard of that before, in all his years of scouring online internet forums to find someone near him that would understand what he was going through.

“That was weird.” Cheren said, breaking the silence. He had his Pokédex out. “Ah, Bianca sent us a message.” He tilted the screen over, so Touya would be able to read.

**_[bel-ieve in yourself]:_ ** _hey guys!! made it to route 2!!_

**_[bel-ieve in yourself]:_ ** _Attatched 201906011200.png_

Attached was a picture, a selfie of Bianca and her two Pokémon in the background by the large Route 02 sign.

**_[bel-ieve in yourself]:_ ** _you guys coming??_

There was a response written from Cheren already—these messages were sent during the battle that Touya just had, apparently. He pulled out his own as Cheren typed another response, and quickly caught up on the messages he’d missed.

**_[Chere-bear]:_ ** _Got distracted, apologies. After Touya finishes his battle, we will catch up._

**_[Chere-bear]:_ ** _Go on ahead, Bianca._

**_[bel-ieve in yourself]:_ ** _nah, I’m chill with waiting. I brought my camera, so I’ll take some pics while I wait! o(_ _≧∇≦o)_

**_[Chere-bear]:_ ** _Touya won, but only because the trainer conceded. We’ll be on our way soon._

**_[bel-ieve in yourself]:_ ** _okey doke!! i went a bit further ahead but you won’t miss me._

**_[Chere-bear]:_ ** _Okay._

It seemed that Cheren hadn’t changed his name from the ridiculous one that Bianca had set for him. In his defense, Touya hadn’t, either, because he couldn’t figure out how Bianca had did it in the first place and didn’t want to look stupid for not knowing how to do it.

“Did you get everything you needed?” Touya shifted on his feet, hoping the bag of pretzels Mel bought hadn’t moved in his bag and _shattered_ under the weight of everything. But he nodded. “Alright. Let’s go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> N was here N was here _N was here_.
> 
> N finally made his debut!! I hope I wrote him well enough for the story. Since Pokémon B&W is pretty "old" (I mean, they first came out in 2010-2011, when Japan got the games earlier than we did, it's almost been a decade since they were first released, so they're pretty old don't come @ me) I can have a bit of flexibility with some of the characters. Not to rip on the character development of the Pokémon games, but they definitely have improved with the X&Y, ORAS and SUMO additions to the world. Not perfect yet, but no one strives for perfection. Hope that nonsense makes sense.
> 
> I've always seen N as a kindred soul to me, but in ways that I wish I could be. Like, you go you funky little N, being all enigmatic and strange and mysterious. Most of it is probably dealing with his traumatic upbringing (THANKS GHETSIS, said NO ONE EVER) and the other part of it is because I see him somewhere on the autism spectrum. Not saying "every person with autism is line N", and he has a handful of stereotypes on top of it which isn't good, but everyone's stories are different and there are people who fit the stereotypical role of their label in the world. I hope that didn't come off as too offensive, sorry.
> 
> I also have always found it interesting that N released his Pokémon frequently. Every time you battle, you're against new Pokémon-- and sure, he hates Pokéballs, but he was taught how to use them in the world by Ghethsis in order to protect his friends from being stolen from him, so he still uses them but never keeps the Pokémon locked up.
> 
> Also, most of the Ghetsis speech was verbatim from the game, with extra posh and flourish thrown into it. He's a really persuasive guy, isn't he? It's almost hypnotic, lol. 
> 
> Touya, meeting Ghetsis and N in real life, forgetting the dreams from _[Lonely Like Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18284147)_ : wow these people are really familiar where do i know them from 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
> 
> Ghetsis calls himself a "Chamberlain" of Plasma-- which is his role as second-to-the-king/King's assistance. He's also an egotistical asshole who wants to give him a bunch of names and titles to compensate for something. 
> 
> Am not 100% proud of this chapter. I will probably come back and edit this one at a later date, but I felt a bit bad that I kinda left you readers hanging with the promise of N in the next chapter. 
> 
> Anyway I have a scholarship to work on so see you guys in the next chapter, byyeee~


End file.
